For Pacifica Radio, the Revolution is Ending

Far-left KPFK, otherwise known as Pacifica Radio, has been broadcasting progressive propaganda throughout California, and across the world, for many years. (In South Africa, where I lived for several years, you could hear archival Pacifica broadcasts by Noam Chomsky and other radicals late at night on community stations like Bush Radio.) Now, however, Pacifica may be collapsing from within, according to Hillel Aron of L.A. Weekly.

Part of the problem, Aron reports, is a highly public dispute with the network’s executive director, Summer Reese, who was fired but has “occupied” the building. Ratings are also low: “During an average 15-minute period, just 700 people listen to its Los Angeles station, 90.7 FM KPFK, for at least five minutes…Pacifica’s New York station, WBAI, is even worse off.” And the feds are cutting off grant funds because of shoddy accounting.

The whole drama is reminiscent of Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, where rival factions of Jewish resistance groups are too busy fighting each other to resist the Romans. (The L.A. Weekly article was forwarded to me by a correspondent who noted, laughingly: “American left in a Pretzel, all the conflicts wrapped in 1 radio station.”)

The station itself is divided into factions, Aron says, one of which favors news while the other prefers spiritual programming. Aron provides a classic quote (language warning):

“If you fired half the staff around here, it would work better,” [host] Masters says. “They’re just useless people with no work ethic — they don’t give a f— about anything. They act like they’re doing you a favor if they get the program up without glitches. It’s surreal.”

Masters also cites factions on the board: the “Radio Havana” group and the “conspiracy and quackery crowd.”